Not All Workers in Eastern Europe, FSU Happy With Work Hours

Story Highlights

Full-time workers more than twice as likely to want to work fewer hours

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Last year, full-time workers across Eastern Europe and former Soviet states say they put in 45 hours at work each week, on average, and part-time workers put in 27. This is higher than average for many workers across Europe, and more in line with numbers the U.S.

For the most part, workers in Eastern Europe and former Soviet states are fine with this situation. The majority of workers who work full time for an employer would like to work the same number of hours they do now (62%), as would about half of part-time workers (48%).

Many in Eastern Europe, FSU Happy With Hours they Work

Among workers in Eastern Europe, former Soviet states

Employed full time

Employed part time

%

%

Prefer to work more hours

7

35

Prefer to work same hours

62

48

Prefer to work fewer hours

27

13

Do not want to work at all

2

2

Gallup World Poll 2017

Overall, more than four in 10 adults (42%) in the 29 countries surveyed in Eastern Europe and former Soviet states work either full or part time. But not all of these workers are content with their work hours.

Part-time workers (35%) are five times as likely as full-time workers (7%) to want to work more hours, which may reflect the growth in the number of part-time jobs and the decline in the number of full-time jobs throughout Europe since 2007. A number of these part-time workers may be in this situation involuntarily, working in jobs that often offer lower wages and poorer career opportunities.

At the same time, full-time workers may be slightly envious of their part-time counterparts -- or at the least be looking for more of a work-life balance. They are more than twice as likely as part-time workers to want to work fewer hours (27% vs. 13%).

Overall, workers living in the Eastern European countries that belong to the European Union (8%) are far less likely than those in former Soviet states (15%) or non-EU countries in Eastern Europe (19%) to want to work more hours -- but the EU also has a much larger percentage of full-time workers than the other two areas.

However, the common theme persists: Part-time workers in each of the three regions want to work more hours than they currently are, including the majority of part-time workers in non-EU countries (59%).

Gender Parity or Disparity?

While similar percentages of men and women in the 29 countries surveyed are working part time, women are less likely to be working full time for an employer (43% of men, 31% for women). They also typically work fewer hours each week than men, even if they are working full time for an employer.

Women working full time are clocking 43 hours compared with 46 hours for men. However, women tend to be slightly more satisfied with their current situation than men, and fewer women than men want to work more hours.

Women Slightly More Satisfied Than Men With Work Hours

Among adult workers in Eastern Europe and former Soviet states

Women, full time

Men, full time

Women, part time

Men, part time

%

%

%

%

Prefer to work more hours

5

10

33

38

Prefer to work same hours

64

61

48

49

Prefer to work fewer hours

28

26

15

11

Do not want to work at all

2

2

3

*

* = Less than 0.5%

Gallup World Poll 2017

Bottom Line

Jobs are a precious commodity to part-time and full-time workers in these 29 countries -- just 2% would rather not be working at all. While both groups are generally are fine with the hours they are putting in each week, a significant percentage of part-time workers feel they are clearly not at capacity and would like to be working more.

With involuntary part-time work rising the aftermath of the economic crisis, particularly in hard-hit countries in southern Europe, more people could find themselves in this situation, which raises even more questions about the future of work.

Results are based on face-to-face interviews with approximately 1,000 adults per year, aged 15 and older, in each of 29 countries in Eastern Europe and former Soviet states. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error ranges from ±2.5 percentage points to ±3.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.